1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to binding and more particularly to a device and method for binding a collated product using a side wire stitcher.
2. Background Information
To form books (defined herein to include all sheet and signature assemblages), sheets or signatures typically are collated or assembled so that the sheets of the book are arranged in the desired order. The books are then bound.
Traditional binding methods include saddleback stitching and perfect binding. With saddleback stitching, the sheets of the book typically are conveyed so that a fold in the sheets is presented to a stitching device, with the sheets hanging downward in a saddle-like fashion. U.S. Pat. No. 3,317,026 to Zugel et al., for example, discloses a saddleback stitching device with two saddle stitchers.
Saddleback stitching devices have the disadvantage that the spine of the book is not flat. For high-quality binding or larger books, this type of binding can be undesirable.
Perfect binders prepare a book for gluing or adhesion by registering the sheets or signatures of the book so that the sheets or signatures of the book present themselves along a spine of the book. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,697,971 and 5,788,446 for example purport to disclose perfect binders. A book cover typically will be bound with glue at a separate cover station.
Perfect binders have the disadvantage that the glued spine can degrade after repeated use.
To improve on perfect binders and to provide for longer lasting binding in addition to the other advantages of perfect binding, it has been known to side wire stitch the signatures or sheets using stand alone stitching machines. National Geographic magazine, for example, traditionally has been side wire stitched. With side wire stitching, books typically are registered and clamped as with perfect binders, and then stitched from the side. These stitching units however require a special connection area prior to a covering machine, and the books thus must be transferred from the stitching machines to a separate cover machine, which can lead to malfunctions. The stitching machines also take up significant floor space, and are slow in operation. As a result, the books are often split into two streams, adding to the space requirements.
Moreover, the side wire stitching typically was performed in a collator raceway, with a loose collated book placed in a clamp to hold the set together for stitch application and then fully released by the clamp.
An object of the present invention is to provide a method and device for improved side wire stitching.
The present invention provides a side wire stitching binder comprising at least one side wire stitcher for stitching a book through a side of the book, a cover station for applying a cover over a spine of the book, and a clamping device including a clamp for clamping the book in the at least one side wire stitcher and for transferring the book from the at least one side wire stitcher to the cover station.
By connecting the side wire stitcher and the cover station directly with a single clamp, the book may be tightly held in the clamp with higher clamp pressures and better registration. In addition, a transfer of the book between the side wire stitcher and the cover station can be avoided.
The binder may further include a first level shelf along which the spine may be registered and then firmly gripped by the clamp. A section of the book remains exposed below the clamp, so that side stitches may be applied to the exposed section.
The at least one side wire stitcher preferably includes two stitchers, so that every other book can be stitched by one of the stitchers, thus improving throughput of the binder.
The binder may also further include a backbone preparation device after the stitching devices for roughening the spine to improve cover application.
The cover station preferably includes a cover feeder, an applier drum and a cover breaker.
The binder also may include a second level shelf after the stitchers so as to reduce the amount of exposure of the books in the clamps. For example, the first level shelf may be placed with respect to the clamps such that xc2xd to one inch of the books is exposed below the clamping surface. After stitching, the second level shelf may be placed with respect to the clamps such that one quarter to xc2xd of one inch of the book remains exposed. This lesser exposure can aid in backbone preparation and cover application by providing a firmer grip closer to the spine.
The present invention also provides a method for binding a book comprising the steps of:
clamping the book with a first clamp;
side stitching the book while clamped in the first clamp; and
transporting the book to a cover station using the first clamp.
By having the clamp perform both the side stitching support function and the transport to the cover station function, the quality of the binding can be improved.